Last night John, Amanda, and I had the opportunity to chat with Traci, Kelly Davidson, and the entire AFC at Oasis! It was a fantastic experience - three people sitting in an office in another hemisphere while 150+, maybe more, friends sing to you. Amanda got a special treat, today is her birthday, so they sang Happy Birthday to her. It was a pretty lo-fi setup; we called Traci’s mobile, she put it on Speakerphone, and Kelly held it up to a mic while we talked. We chatted about recent happenings and AFCSA preparations.

Well it was fun and I hope we get to do it again. Skype made it possible. Check out skype.com to learn more about Internet telephony.

It is so good to retreat from the city sometimes. Last week, the team went to Cajón del Maipo, less than hour away and on the edge of Santiago. It was a rejuvenating and fun time. It brought questions of Sabbath, cultivating “holy time,” and in general being more conscious of time and what one is doing.

I honestly can say that before, I didn’t really look in to keeping Sabbath. Sure, I have a “día libre” every Monday, but I didn’t use the time to rest and reflect. It’s commanded that we rest, that it “was made for man.”

Well the time was quite fun and refreshing. Oh, one night we had pollo asado (roasted chicken), it was so juicy. I loved it. Well tears, games, reflection, crazy kids, injuries, learning, and more made for a great three days out side the city of smog.

Not to boast, but the heavily handicapped intern family unit, The NewMannBrads, triumphed in the retreat games competition. Our spoils were delicious chocolates and a puzzle of Chile, both I have yet to seen.




More photos can be found at flickr.

It’s a bit dready of a day to celebrate Dieciocho, the Chilean Independence Day. It’s a bit cool and cloudy currently in Santiago.

The past two weeks have been quite festive around Santiago - decorations on light poles, people darting in between cars selling suction cup flags, parties in the parks, lights, bunting, etc.

Yesterday, Sunday, the church invited two other congregations to join in the festivities after worship. There was a HUGE asado, la cueca (Chilean national dance) and folklore presentation, games in the plaza, and praise time in the end. It was a good time, especially since I got to see my friend Melissa, who is married to a Chilean and from my church in San Antonio.

Last night, several of us went to Ryan’s and Nathan’s for a game and some of us ended up staying all night long. Fun. I’m out of town for a few days. No worries.
More photos at flickr.

Well today was a wonderful day. I was one of many to witness the baptism and birth of a new brother, Camilo. I first met Camilo in the summer of 2005. He was/is a part of a group of university-age friends who grew up together, called LPC. He has been coming to the church for about two and a half years now and got back from a three week trip to the USA to attend the wedding of one of the the LPC guys and visit friends. He told me at lunch right before he left for Texas that he didn’t know why but he felt like we were old friends. He’s a really great guy with a tender heart.

Well Camilo has been on a long journey with God and Thursday he called my friend Jeff to tell him he wanted to be baptized the coming Sunday, today. He’s now a brother in Christ and I couldn’t be any happier.

Cheers.

For pictures, visit flickr.

Last weekend, really a week and a half ago, my friends, Jeff and Mark, and I decided to do some adventureous cooking. Mark and I were hanging around the church building on the Thursday before and I pitched the idea of getting together and cooking. Mark said he always wanted to do paella, so one phone call to Jeff and two days later we were cooking a paella from scratch - straight from the mariscos market in downtown Santiago to our mouths.

Apparently Mark’s Spanish neighbor, who is a bit fond of the drink and not afraid to express her opinion to Mark, said it was one of the best she had. We have reached gourmet genius.

Enjoy.

More photos are available at flickr.